Reflecting on my own 20+ year career, there are various people who’ve had a profound impact on it and still do. They supported and championed me, they took chances on me and they inspired me. I’m eternally grateful. I’m still in touch with most of them and seek out their company or work with them whenever I can. I think everyone needs mentors at some point, but this is especially important for women in tech where there are still so few role models.

Mentoring comes in different shapes and sizes. From speed-mentoring sessions when you try to extract or give as much value as you can in 5- 20 minutes, to long-term structured mentoring relationships and everything in-between. What I’ve learnt is that mentoring relationships can’t be forced. There has to be personal chemistry and a good match in terms of skills and experience. Timing is a factor also.